The present invention relates to a pool rack for arranging pool balls on a pool table, and in particular, to a pool rack for arranging the balls in a compact triangular group.
At the beginning of a game of pool, a plurality of pool balls are tightly grouped near one end of a pool table using a triangular-shaped rack. The rack is removed and a player starts play by hitting a cue ball into the group to "break" or scatter the balls on the pool table. To maximize the scattering effect, it is desirable to rack the pool balls in as compact a group as possible, without spacing between the balls. For easy placement of the balls into the rack, however, the rack must be somewhat oversized, which creates a need to "tighten" the group of balls before the rack is removed.
Various methods for tightening a group of racked pool balls have been used. Traditionally, the pool racker's thumbs or fingers are used to push the back row of balls toward the apex of the triangular frame, thereby tightening the group. The thumbs, however, often apply uneven pressure to the balls, tightening some balls adequately but leaving spaces between others. The thumbs can also stick to the balls and cause them to separate from the once-tightened group. The thumbs may also be removed in an uneven manner, causing some of the balls to loosen. The conventional rack itself can also loosen a group of racked balls if the rack is removed carelessly from the racked group.
Various mechanical devices have been suggested to tightly rack the balls. For example, oversized racks with tubular members for rolling against the back row of balls have been suggested for tightening the group. Such racks are typified by those shown in Volpe U.S. Pat. No. 2,442,939 and Volpe U.S. Pat. No. 2,405,677. However, such racks lack any means for keeping the tubular member in a position away from the group of balls when it is not in use, making such racks difficult to remove from a racked group without disturbing the group. Such racks also contain features that are difficult to manufacture and assemble.
Other oversized pool racks have been suggested for racking pool balls into a tight group by having a spring-loaded bar biased away from the group for selectively pushing the balls into a tight group. Such racks are exemplified by Cook U.S. Pat. No. 3,253,826; Chase U.S. Pat. No. 1,052,461; and Pierce U.S. Pat. No. 916,193. Such racks, however, are typically made up of many separate and complex parts which complicate their manufacture, assembly, and use. These multiple parts also add to the size and weight of the pool rack, making them difficult to store and transport. A further drawback of such racks is that their complexity increases the likelihood of malfunction.
Accordingly, there is still a need for a pool rack that will tightly rack a group of pool balls in a simple and foolproof manner and without the aforementioned problems.
A primary objective of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved pool rack capable of consistently tightly racking a group of pool balls without being dependent on the racker's manual skills.
Another objective is to provide a pool rack which has few mechanical features capable of failing.
Still another objective is to provide a pool rack which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.
Another objective is to provide a pool rack which is easy for unskilled pool players to use.
Another important objective is to provide a pool rack which is lightweight and has minimal external features to facilitate storage and transportation.